Take Back Your Kitchen in 31 Days: Day 14 - Lower Cabinet Interior

The lower cabinet interiors weren't too bad. I could tell which cabinets I open the most based on the number of crumbs I found. I did find a dead, dried up slug which totally disgusted me, but that's half of the reason of cleaning out the cabinets, right?

I started with the cabinet closest to our trash can. We keep our trash bags in there, along with a serving tray that is too large to fit in the cabinet with the other serving trays. I also had a vase in there, which we never use, so I moved it to an upper cabinet where there was room. Looks like I have some room to grow in here!

Next up was the appliances. Not too much change, but I did find some manuals that I then put where we keep the rest of our manuals.

On to my baking sheets. I love using the wire shelving to separate my baking sheets. I don't have to dig under other pans to get to them. My current issue was the blender box (yes, I have had this blender for over a year now and it's still in the box). It was getting in the way of the larger pans. So I switched it to the side with the smaller sheets and now my baking sheets don't have to be at an angle in the cabinet. I also had the smaller baking sheets in the taller wire shelf so the big baking sheets were really leaning over; now they stand more vertical.

And finally the last two cabinets. This is where I found the nasty dead slug! Not a lot of change here, just cleaned out.

Don't worry about under the sink yet. We'll get that one tomorrow.

Take Back Your Kitchen in 31 Days: Day 13 - Drawers

Today's task wasn't too terrible for me. As I mentioned yesterday, we have 9 drawers in our kitchen. A few weeks ago, I cleaned out and organized our battery drawer, so I decided to skip that one today.

All I did was take everything out, one drawer at a time. Vacuum, wipe down, and dry each drawer and put things back in their proper places. I found a few things that didn't belong, but there wasn't too much of a difference in my organization.

Tomorrow, we will clean out and organize the lower cabinet interiors.

Take Back Your Kitchen in 31 Days: Day 12 - Upper Cabinet Interior

We have been blessed with 8 upper cabinets, 9 drawers, 5 lower cabinets and twirl-around in our kitchen. So to not overwhelm myself with all of those cabinets to go through, I have broken down the cabinet clean out over this entire week. Today, I started with the upper cabinet interior.

I tackled one cabinet at a time. I took everything out, wipe it out with a cloth and reorganized. The kitchen was the first room we unpacked when we moved into our house over a year ago, and I didn't really put a lot of thought into where things were placed. Here is a before and after (sorry, couldn't fit cabinets on the left over the fridge in the picture!):

Tomorrow, we will empty out the drawers.

Take Back Your Kitchen in 31 Days: Day 11 - Catch Up

Happy Mother's Day! We are going to use today to get caught up in our Take Back Your Kitchen in 31 Days series. Here's a recap of what we've done so far:

Introduction
Day 1 - Declutter
Day 2 - Oven Exterior
Day 3 - Oven Interior
Day 4 - Catch Up
Day 5 - Dishwasher
Day 6 - Microwave
Day 7 - Small Appliances
Day 8 - Ice Dispenser
Day 9 - Fridge Exterior
Day 10 - Fridge Interior

If all of these items are checked off your list, then enjoy the day off! This week, we will start going to through the cabinets, so be ready for some serious organizing!

Take Back Your Kitchen in 31 Days: Day 10 - Fridge Interior

The inside of our refrigerator was in desperate need of a good cleaning...it was starting to smell! Yuck! I feel refreshed now when I open it up to get something. Here is my cleaning process:

First, I take everything out...shelves and drawers included. You may want to mark what notches the shelves were in as you are taking them out. I had to do some readjusting.

Then I wipe down and dry the walls with this concoction and my trusty microfiber cloth:
- 1 teaspoon dish soap
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 cups of warm water

I rise the cloth out in the sink instead of back in my bucket. It keeps the water in the bucket cleaner. Also, don't forget the get the area where the door meets the main part. I have often found mysterious colored substances lurking there.

Next, wipe down all of the shelves and drawers the same way. Then I dry them with another microfiber cloth put them back in the fridge.

Lastly, put the food away. This is a good opportunity to check expiration dates. I found something that expired in June 2013! Also, use this opportunity to reorganize!

I do the main part of the fridge first and put that food away, then tackle the door. This way, not all of my food is out on the counters at the same time.

Tomorrow is a well deserved day of rest or catch up day.

Take Back Your Kitchen in 31 Days: Day 9 - Fridge Exterior

Today I cleaned the exterior of our fridge. The exposed exterior wasn't too bad, it was what was on top, inside, and underneath that was bad!

1. Start by taking everything off of the fridge.

2. Wipe it down with your preferred cleaner. Don't forget the top, as it gets very dusty up there!

3. Now is a good chance to clean the coils too. Dust and debris build up and can affect the efficiency of your fridge! Make sure you unplug the fridge before taking anything apart. We found quite a few things (that were not ours) stuck behind the fridge including some chapstick, an old Christmas greeting card, a sippy cup cover, and plenty of dust bunnies! It was gross! I used our vacuum to clean most everything, but I did wipe the floor cause there was a sticky substance on it.

Tomorrow, we will get at the inside of the refrigerator.

52 Weeks of Printables: Week 19 - Babysitter Sheet

Leave your babysitter well informed with this Babysitter Information Sheet!

We actually have a Babysitter Binder. This is the first sheet in it, as we can customize it to that specific babysitting occasion. We also have in our binder:
- sleeping and eating tips and tricks specific to our kid
- a copy of our health insurance card
- a list and map of neighbors
- miscellaneous information, such as how to turn on our TV
- a copy of the American Red Cross Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED reference guide
- a copy of our car seat instructions (in case they will be traveling somewhere)

Click the image below to grab your copy of the information sheet: